Happy Birthday, America!
by Iceflight398
Summary: Written but posted like three hours too late for the 4th of July, may I present to you a story with an uncreative title that takes the place of a nonexistent summary. Happy birthday, my beautiful country! (No pairings but some pairings can be interpreted, rated T for Romano and some jokes that all teenagers know of)
1. Chapter 1

Fourth of July! Yay!

Happy birthday to my beautiful America! I could not only write an entire book of fanfictions starring you, but of original works (like poems) too! We're a very young country, but we still have a lot to be proud of! Sure, America's not perfect, but if you're looking for somewhere or something perfect, you're out of luck. America's a really great country, and I'm lucky to live here.

My family celebrated the Fourth of July by watching the fireworks show in San Francisco! They were amazing, just like my country!

I could literally write an essay about how great America is, but since you guys didn't come here for that...

* * *

"Dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmit," America cursed angrily as he dropped his suitcase on his foot.

Whimpering in pain, he looked to North Korea for sympathy. The Asian barely spared him an apathetic glance. He was carrying a soaking wet South Korea on his back.

The cheerful Korean had fallen asleep on the plane and no matter how many bottles of water were dumped on him when they landed in Washington DC, he just would not get up. His pulse and sleep-talking had been the only things assuring North Korea and America that he was still alive.

The three nation personifications had gone on vacation together to Hawaii in a back-door peace effort that a frustrated China had organized. It had been more fun than America had expected, plus he had ended up with some good blackmail photos of Hyung Soo in a Hawaiian hula skirt and a hot pink lei.

Of course, he had missed most of the Fourth of July, but he tried to tell himself that getting to spend time fostering international peace was worth it. It really sucked that no one even thought to wish him happy birthday though. Maybe nobody really liked him, but he thought he did have some friends...

A roar of frustration from North Korea shook America out of his thoughts and startled many passersby.

"What's wrong?" He asked, in Korean, of course.

He had a buttload of immigrants. It wouldn't make sense if he didn't know a buttload of foreign languages.

"Our Uber driver made a mistake and ended up in Nevada," North Korea growled, furiously shoving his phone into his pocket.

"Floriiiida," South Korea sleep-moaned.

North Korea's eye twitched. America blinked. What the heck? Nevada? Florida?

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmit," England, cursed angrily as he dropped a box of party decorations on his foot.

Hissing in pain and clutching his foot, he furiously hopped around the guilty and now abandoned box.

China scoffed at England from where he and some other nations were setting up the buffet. "Don't be a baby, Opium. And I've found another reason for us to say 'dammit.' Little Hyung Soo just called saying their Uber driver is in Nevada."

Israel, who was hanging party streamers, looked an odd mixture between concerned, furious, and confused. "Nevada? But... didn't they land in D.C.?"

"People are stupid," China grumbled. "Who wants to go pick him up? And no, Italies, not you two."

The two personifications of Italy looked like they were going to cry, except Romano was scowling while looked near tears. Two bottom lips wobbled.

Germany went over to soothe them with a frustrated sigh.

England rolled his eyes at their childishness. But none of the other nations were much better. A heated debate was beginning to rise up about who was capable enough to drive to the airport without getting arrested, lost, or cause some other disaster.

England gave his input (it shouldn't be the Stupid Frog, a.k.a. Francis Bonnefoy, a.k.a. the personification of France) but somehow he couldn't put his heart into the argument. They were holding a 4th of July birthday party for America- the day was a constant reminder of how his little brother had left him. His little brother who he had played with and soothed during storms. His little brother who had loved England when he felt like no one else did.

"Angleterre!" The Frog shouted, startling the Englishman out of his thoughts. "Mathieu and I are going to pick America up! Do you want to come?"

The Brit quickly nodded. "Of course! Eh... not that I want to... I just don't want you to get arrested again, that's all! Not that I care about you, I just-"

"We get it, you're tsundere," Mexico snapped, carrying a platter of food over to the buffet. "Now hurry up! And remember to keep the party a secret!"

"I am not tsundere!" England roared as Canada and France teamed up to drag him over to the car before he could start a fight like a drunk guy in a bar.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hi, guys!" South Korea chirped cheerily as he woke up. "What'd I miss?"

North Korea's left eye twitched dangerously and his right hand gravitated towards the spot where his gun used to be. Sensing the danger, America hurriedly changed the subject.

"Florida!"

"You morons!" North Korea roared.

" _Uri nara mansae_!" South Korea cheered.

America hurriedly backtracked. "What I meant was... Florida feels really nice-"

"I will rip your stupid capitalist pig head off and feed it to the dogs!"

"Uh... the weather, that is-"

"I should never have agreed to go on this foolish trip! It was only because Yao-hyung asked it of me-"

"Wow, you and Yong-Yong really have a serious brother complex going on, don't you? It's like Nat's except without the marriage demands."

North Korea smacked him, the Korean's eyes seething. "I hate you!" America flinched. "You're stupid, you're whiny, you're fat... what kind of hero are you anyways? Pathetic. And no one even likes you."

America's jaw went slack. North Korea had yelled at him before, but why was this the only time it had hit so close to home? Wiping away the teardrops in his hurt blue eyes, America backed away from the confused looking brothers and pushed his way through the crowd of people scrambling to get to their own destinations. He wanted to get away.

The truth was, he knew that North Korea was right. Nobody wanted him around. Japan, Matty, and his other "friends" only tolerated him because their bosses wanted to maintain good relationships.

"Capitalist pig! Come back!"

"Al, please come back! Hyung didn't mean what he said! He's always like this when he's grumpy!"

An iron grip grabbed his hand. Whipping around, America stared into North Korea's dark eyes. Behind the Korean, the Southern brother looked near tears.

"Lemme go," America mumbled, half-heartedly struggling.

His eyes were filling with tears again, but he was (at least, he wanted to be) the hero, so he couldn't cry. All he needed to do was purposely ignore what everyone was saying...

"Listen to me!" North snapped, letting go of America's arm. Then his tone softened. "Look, capitalist pi- erm, America- about what I said earlier-"

"You were right," America interrupted.

The Korea brothers looked shocked.

"But... Al..." South Korea stammered.

"I was wrong!" North Korea growled, kicking America.

There was no real strength behind the blow. It was like when America was a child and used to kick Arthur without really meaning it, just light blows from someone in despair.

"You're a great friend!" South Korea insisted. "And you're one of my best friends so I do like you!"

"No, you don't," America mumbled, feeling affectionate for the Korean.

He was really nice, trying to pretend he liked America in order to make him feel better. But he was lying.

"Yes, I do!" South Korea yelled, the Korean's face becoming intense. "You're nice and you always try to cheer me up no matter what! Even if you might have your own stuff to do, you always play video games with me when I'm sad!"

America blinked away tears. Did South Korea really mean it?

"And you're not stupid!" South Korea continued. "The biggest reason no one ever listens to you at world meetings is that... well..."

"No one ever listens to anyone at world meetings," North Korea said gruffly. "And... look, it doesn't matter what type of body you have. The people that are really worth caring about won't care about your weight."

South Korea nodded enthusiastically, suddenly reminding America of his precious golden retriever. North Korea acted more like his husky, scowling and stubborn. But they were both trying to make him feel better, just like his pets would. Did he really matter that much to them?

"And..." North Korea turned bright red and looked away. "It makes you really cuddly..."

"Really?" America asked, his voice shaking. "I'm... cuddly...?"

"Like a panda," North Korea mumbled, his face still a furious red.

"Comfy!" South Korea agreed.

"Then... hug?" America asked hesitantly, spreading his arms apart.

"Fine, capitalist pig!"

His face now rivaling Romano's, North Korea buried his face in America's chest. The North Korean was painstakingly thin. America made a mental promise to try harder to help him out. South Korea also jumped over and enveloped his arms around both his brother and America's chest.

"Group hug!" The South Korean cheered.

"Group hug," America agreed, squeezing his two friends tightly. He was crying, but he didn't care.

It was going to be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

" _Mon cher_!" France yelled, waving America over.

The instant the American saw them, Canada saw his brother's face light up in pleasure. He bounded over like a loving dog greeting its owner, completely ignoring the luggage. His eyes looked a bit red, which most definitely was not Canada's imagination. He would need to talk with his brother and catch up again sometime while he was in D.C.

"Matty! France! Eyebrows! You all came to pick us up!"

Beside him, the two Korea brothers strolled up with the luggage, and scowl on the face of one and a large grin on the face of another.

"Don't call me 'Eyebrows,'" England snapped angrily.

America grinned, sticking his tongue out at England before giving Canada a bro hug.

"I've missed you," Canada mumbled. "Happy birthday,:

"Thanks! I've missed you too, bro."

The two broke apart, both smiling brightly.

France pouted. "No hug for Papa France?"

America laughed and gave France a hug too. France laughed in that weird "honhonhon" way that Canada had always had nightmares about as a child.

" _Merci, mon cher_. But Papa France wants a hug from the two lovely Koreas too!"

Turning crimson red, North Korea gifted France with the Korean language's entire collection of curse words before aggressively kicking the Frenchman.

Canada winced in sympathy.

South Korea, on the other hand, eagerly gave France a hug before breaking away abruptly with his nose wrinkled.

"Hugs originated in Korea, _da-ze_! But France's stinky perfume didn't."

France dramatically placed his hand over his heart. "Oh, you all wound me! _Mathieu_ , come comfort your Papa!"

Canada debated whether he should politely decline or not. Luckily, he was spared the decision by England screaming that they needed to get going.

"Stop hugging, you bloody morons! We need to go so that... eh... let's just bloody go!"

Canada internally breathed a sigh of relief that England hadn't let the surprise slip.

America grinned. "Awww, Iggy, do you want a hug too?"

Without waiting for a reply, America picked up England right off the ground and spun him around. Turning bright red, the Brit screamed bloody murder while looking extremely nauseous. Glancing away from his fellow nations, Canada noticed with embarrassment that the passersby were staring. Some even seemed to be filming them.

Moaning, he put his face in his hands as he felt it heat up. North Korea seemed to notice the stares too, and he immediately began to threaten the hapless passerby in a convoluted mix of Korean and English punctuated by screams.

Meanwhile, France was tightly squeezing South Korea to his chest while laughing in that creepy way of his. The South Korean was screaming in terror for "Aniki" and "Hyung" while wildly kicking and punching around.

This was most definitely going to go viral on YouTube.


	4. Chapter 4

America eagerly bounding up the steps to his house. He was finally back to his beautiful, awesome, super cool house! Grabbing his doorknob, he yanked open the door and was greeted by Germany's furious face.

Not a very pleasant homecoming.

"Why," The German growled, "Is there a YouTube video with over one million likes that features you guys?"

America yelped, choosing to ignore the question. "Dude! What are you doing at my house? Stalker!"

South Korea squealed. "Over one million likes? _Uri nara mansae_! I'm a YouTube star!"

"We can explain..." Canada whispered.

Germany's eye twitched.

America laughed, slinging his arm around Germany's shoulder and raising his fist for a fist bump that was denied. America pouted. People should be smiling in his country!

"C'mon, bro, smile! You're in the United States of Awesome!"

Grinning and jokingly punching Germany on the shoulder, America shoved the angry nation aside and felt his jaw drop.

The inside of his house was covered in red, white, and blue streamers. Israel poked his head over from the living room.

"Big brother! You're here!" Israel grinned. "Your YouTube video was hilarious... but... eh... you're kind of in trouble."

North Korea snarled. "How dare those stupid fools post a video of us on TouYube! I shall rip them to shreds!"

Israel winced. "Yeesh. Calm down."

Germany frowned. "Perhaps... we should try another approach. But we will discuss the recuperations later. For now..."

Israel grabbed America. Still trying to process the party streamers, America felt himself getting dragged into the living room. He froze at the doorway in shock.

The entire room was decked in decorations of red, white, and blue, and packed full of laughing nations. A disco ball was spinning in the ceiling, casting multicolored light over the room. There was a DJ station that Hong Kong was managing. There was also a buffet full of food from all types of cultures.

" _Oye, gringo_!" Mexico said, grinning at him from next to the buffet. " _Feliz cumpleaños!_ "

"Surprise, motherfucker!" Romano shouted.

"生日快乐!"

"Happy birthday, America-kun."

"生日快乐! And I loved the YouTube video! It gave me inspiration for a new doujinshi..."

"Happy birthday, mate! I was going to get you a koala but then I got in trouble..."

France put a hand on America's shoulder, startling the stunned American.

"Well, _mon cher_ , what do you think?"

America felt a tear roll down his cheek. Then another. And another.

England made a choking noise. Germany and North Korea stiffened. Everyone quieted down.

Italy's lip wobbled. "Oh, no! America, why are you sad?" The Italian began to sniffle. "Did you want to eat hamburgers? All the Asians said not to put it in the buffet because it tasted terrible, but..." The Italian burst into tears. "Waaah! I'm sorry!"

"Stop crying, you American asshole!" Iran shouted furiously. "Look... whatever it is, I'll take care of it! It's your birthday! Celebrate freedom! Be noisy! Just don't cry!"

Through his tears, America could see the distressed expressions on the faces of Israel and South Korea.

America felt Canada squeeze his shoulder. "Al," His brother said quietly, "What's wrong?"

The American whimpered, trying to stifle his tears. "I... I just didn't think you guys cared that much about me. I mean... none of you guys really like me..."

Japan looked shocked. "America-kun... you are my dear friend. Why would you believe that?"

North Korea kicked America, but there was no real anger in his blow or his words. "We went over this, Capitalist Pig! Plenty of people like you. Your people _love_ you. A person can't walk four feet here without seeing a flag."

Israel quickly hugged America, looking a bit uncomfortable and red-faced. "I... yeah... big brother..."

India grinned. "America, you always send all of us birthday gifts no matter how bad our political relationships are. And Christmas gifts. Even though some of us don't celebrate it... well, it's the thought that counts."

"And you send us enough candy every Halloween to give a water buffalo a heart attack," China grumbled affectionately.

Belarus, nodded solemnly while sharpening her knife. "America is my good friend, so of course we would celebrate his birthday..."

Lithuania smiled shyly. "Yes, definitely! I hope you like the surprise!"

Latvia nodded nervously, smiling from behind Estonia. His eyes occasionally darted over to Natalya like a frightened squirrel.

Russia giggled, twirling his pipe around. South Africa quickly ducked to avoid it. "America always gives Mother Russia birthday presents, so even though Mother Russia wants to rip America into tiny little shreds, Mother Russia will help make a party for him, _da_? And then everyone can become one with Mother Russia!"

"Can you please stop referring to yourself in the third person?" Turkey muttered. "It's really weird and creepy."

America laughed through his tears, clapping Russia on the back. "Freedom, bro! No one's becoming one with you!"

A dark aura surrounded Russia. America noticed that a lot of the nations suddenly looked nervous for some reason. Weird.

"Anyways, thanks! We are great pals, right?"

Russia laughed like one of those yandere people in Japan's anime. " _Da_!"

England scowled. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you two? Anyways..." He gave America an awkward hug, his face red. "Happy birthday!"

America grinned, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. His chest felt warm. Things had been really crazy this year, but having everyone here wishing him a happy birthday made everything better.

"Thanks, guys," He whispered, not able to find the words to properly thank them.

India laughed. "Of course! Now let's dance-"

" _Aiya_!"

Hong Kong rolled his eyes, removing his headset. "You two are, like, such grandpas. And I got a surprise-for-everyone fireworks show set up in the backyard-"

" _Qué_?"

"Fool!"

" _Oh mon Dieu!_ "

"So, like, they should come on in a little-"

"Let's go outside to see them!" South Korea shouted joyously, grabbing America and dragging the blond nation outside.

The rest of the nations stumbled around behind them, tripping, stumbling, cursing, and generally acting like nations.

Outside, a warm wind blew, caressing his face like his mother used too. Tilting his head back, America closed his eyes. A feeling of peace washes over him.

"Like, the fireworks are starting!" Hong Kong shouted.

Opening his eyes with a smile, America was greeted by bursts of color and noise sprinkling across the indigo sky. Red, white, and blue sparks decorated the sky, before fizzing out into nothingness. The booms of the fireworks sounded like the thunderstorms he had been scared of as a child.

Israel smiled at him. "Great, right?"

America nodded, his jaw hanging slightly open. "Yeah... wow... it's like the entire world is bright and beautiful and hopeful. Like a wonderful tomorrow is right there."


	5. Chapter 5

Reclining on his lawn with a wide grin on his face, America stared up at the glittering stars dotting the night sky. The were like the stars on his awesome flag.

The grass crunched and there was a rustle as someone sat down next to America. Looking over, the young nation saw the familiar face of his old caretaker.

"Wassup, Iggy?"

The Englishman scowled. "I told you to use proper English! And not to call me that!"

America stuck his tongue out and rolled his eyes. "Nah, nah. Freedom!"

England glared at him. "Your face is going to freeze like that if you keep making that expression."

The blue-eyed nation snorted. "If that were true, your face would always be in a scowl. But then again... it kinda is..."

"Shut up, you bloody Yank!"

"One point for 'Murica, lobsterback!"

America laughed. England scowled. As their expressions relaxed, the two fell into a comfortable silence as they stared up at the starry night sky.

Finally, after an eternity of silence, England broke it.

"Well... I hope you liked the party..."

Sitting up to face England, America gave his brother a warm hug, causing the Brit to yelp.

"Thanks, big bro."

England blinked rapidly as America pulled away. "You... but... I thought..."

America shrugged. "Well, I've been talking with some of the other little-sibling nations, and we're agreed that no matter what happens in this world, our big siblings are still our big siblings. Y'know, it's actually easier with you, since our countries are on good terms right now."

The other nation began to smile, an occurrence a younger America had thought was common. As it turns out, it wasn't, England just really loved his little brother.

"I'm happy that we can call each other brothers again," England muttered, hugging America back.

America grinned, his blue eyes filling with tears again, but this time they were truly happy tears. "I am too, big brother."

"And…" England continued softly, "I'm also happy that you can pursue your dreams, little brother.

"Happy birthday, America."


End file.
